Kings Mountain gets muddy, walks out of Forestview with a clean sheet

Tuesday

Rainy conditions blanketed the area much of Tuesday, but it did little to slow the Mountaineers in their pursuit of a perfect conference slate.

Few have proven as a worthy adversary for the Kings Mountain girls soccer team this season. And on Tuesday, not even Mother Nature could get between it and another Big South 3A victory.

The Mountaineers remained undefeated in conference play, going on the road to claim a 4-0 win over Forestview.

With the victory, they claimed a season sweep of their league foes, outscoring them 9-1.

“When I got the call saying we were on, I said ‘Let’s go!,’” said Kings Mountain girls soccer coach Erik Price. “When I told them they would get to play in the mud, they started screaming. Most kids love to play in the mud and get dirty, so to play a game like this, they enjoyed it. And it felt better to win it.”

Played on a pitch soaked by two days of rain, it was the Jaguars who came out as the aggressors, holding possession and getting some good shots on goal. Their best opportunity came off the leg of Morgan Hall in the fifth minute, her attempt batted away by Kings Mountain net minder Baylee Marr.

The match would remain scoreless until the 38th minute, when an unlucky bounce on a shot by Kings Mountain’s Cassidy Calhoun skipped past Jaguar goalie Nicole Bolton gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.

“In games like this, with these type of field conditions, it is usually about who can catch the first break and it happened to go our way,” Price said. “Both teams worked hard, the ball was moving around. We knew we would not be able to play our normal style of ball possession, and played a lot of long balls … which is not normally how we play. But I’m proud of our girls for stepping up and rising to the challenge.”

Things would go from bad to worse in the opening minutes of the second half. Sarah Campbell utilized her speed to get behind Forestview defensemen, then finished things off by putting the ball in the back of net to give Kings Mountain a 2-0 lead.

According to Forestview girls soccer coach David McConnell, he perceived Campbell as being in an offside position and her goal should have been nullified. However, he accepted that an official was in a better position to cast judgment.

“The second goal was unfortunate, just how it happened,” he said. “He was on the line, and you have to take his word for it. It’s how it happens sometimes, you just have to try to move on.”

Despite holding a two-goal advantage, Kings Mountain could have taken its foot off the pedal. Instead, it opted to continue applying pressure and probing for opportunities.

The Mountaineers added to their lead with a Sarah Drennan header off a free kick in the 65th minute, followed by an Emma Goff goal with a little more than 10 minutes remaining.

“You never overlook Stuart Cramer, Forestview, Crest … they are three powerhouses in our conference,” Price said. “So to get a win in this fashion against Forestview, it means a lot. But there’s still much left for us to accomplish and many more tough games ahead.”

Kings Mountain (12-4, 10-0-1 Big South 3A) hosts Crest on Friday in a battle of the top two teams in Big South 3A. Meanwhile, Forestview (11-4, 7-3) looks to rebound when it travels to Stuart Cramer on Thursday.

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